LAKE DWELLERS. 1C9 



no shelter of rocks or islands, were crossed in the teeth [7^];! 



of a strong breeze, and the bows of our canoes were fre- 

 quently overtopped by the waves. For security the 

 paddlers crouched in the bottom instead of sitting, as is 

 usual, on the thin strips of ash w^hicli constitute the 

 thwarts in the bow and stern. Perfect in symmetry, 

 and capable of conveying four persons, the canoes were 

 of the smallest construction compatible with safety on ,. 



the rapid river or its broad lakes. They were eighteen feet |f| 



in length, and weighed but sixty pounds each. From an ^* 



end-on point of view, the paddlers seemed supported by 

 almost nothing — the bark sides projecting but a few 

 inches beyond the breadth of their bodies, and the gun- |J: 



wale nearly flush with the water. But we were "old 

 hands," and were determined to camp that night on the 

 big lake ; and the light barks, impelled by strokes which 

 made the handles of the paddles bend like reeds, forged 

 ahead through chopping seas till wc reached the shelter 

 of the rocky islands at the foot of Lake Rossignol. Here 

 the lakes were connected by a rapid run, where, beaching 

 the canoes, we enjoyed capital trouting for a couple of 

 hours — killing over five dozen fish averaging one pound 

 — and dined on shore, picking a profuse dessert of blue 

 and liuckle berries. A glorious view was unfolded as we 

 left the run and entered the still water of the lake. The 

 breeze fell rapidly with the sun, and enabled us to steer 

 towards the centre, from which alone the size of the lake 

 could be appreciated, owing to the number of its islands. 

 These were of every imaginable shape and size — from the 

 grizzly rock bearing a solitary stunted pine, shaggy with 

 Usnea, to those of a mile in length, thickly wooded with 

 maple, beech, and birches, now wearing the first pure 



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